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Homeland Review: Cabin Fever

That was when Carrie and Brody's lovely weekend, filled with drunken billiards, drunken sex and romantic hikes, took a turn for the worse. However, our viewing pleasure of "The Weekend" only increased following Carrie's slip up in the cabin.

Brody looked sincerely shocked when Carrie told him she thought he had been turned by Nazir, so I wasn't surprised in the least when he told her to ask him anything she wanted. Nor was I surprised at all of his admissions to her about what had gone on over there, as well as what he had been up to since coming back.

Many of us conjectured that he could have killed Walker in order to survive, and that he turned to Islam as a way of surviving the terrible conditions of his captivity over there. What I didn't expect him to say, though, was that he loved Nazir for comforting him when nobody else had. All of these explanations could mean absolutely nothing, however, since we know he can lie about anything after last week's polygraph.

Because of the way Homeland has progressed through its first seven episodes, I don't think we can take anyone's word for it that Tom Walker is indeed the POW we're looking for. It's a clever twist, though. I definitely did not see that one coming.

But isn't it a bit early in the season to have all of it figured out? I've learned my lesson in attempting to discern who is good and who is bad too early, so I will say there is still a good chance that this Tom Walker business is a perfect example of how to send the CIA down the wrong path.

With how saddened Brody seemed to be towards Carrie after he finished giving her all his answers, and that strong but soft "f*ck you" he gave her as he left the cabin, I will have a difficult time believing he is indeed helping the terrorists. Well, at least until circumstances change yet again in the next episode.

What made all of that tension in the final 15 minutes or so fantastic was how great Carrie and Brody were together for the 45 minutes prior.

Claire Danes and Damian Lewis were electric. From the fun drunken pool games, to mouthing off and beating down Neo Nazis, it was a great time from the start. They had a couple of intimate moments while hammered, and then after admitting to each other that they are extremely comfortable with one another*, they finally had some sober sex.

*Being comfortable is something Brody hadn't been able to do since coming back to the U.S., and it is probably something Carrie has rarely ever felt... if ever.

In the final moments, when Brody was driving away from the cabin in his car, it seemed like Carrie had some serious feelings for this guy, right? That's what made it all that much more depressing to see.

While all of that intriguing, exciting, depressing stuff was going on, Saul was also retrieving Aileen and bringing her back to Virginia, which was not nearly as entertaining.

The story was slight in comparison, so I didn't mind it interrupting the main plot. Saul just isn't that fun to watch. Maybe it's a credit to how good Danes and Lewis are, but any time they're not on screen, Homeland takes a step back.

"The Weekend" was yet another fantastic chapter in this first season. What did you all think of all that went down? And how on Earth are there still five more episodes? I can't wait! Can you?!?

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toms shoes•October 14, 2013 17:45

At Trattoria da Giggetto on Through del Portico d'Ottavia, the chefs make superb fried artichokes and filetti di baccala (cod fritters). You are unlikely to become disappointed in any smaller family members place in Rome. My cafe possibilities are Tazza d'Oro, close to the Pantheon, and Cafe Pace (Through della Pace) exactly where they served Tv detective Aurelio Zen his favourite grappa.

MJB3•November 20, 2011 19:09

Actually Jess mentioned in an earlier episode that she had his favorite tea, Yorkshire Gold.

HollyDawn•November 20, 2011 18:09

Yorshire Gold tea wasn't mentioned by Jess until Episode 5, and that was when there was no more surveillance. So how would Carrie have known about the tea? Is this a slip up, or should we believe that they were talking about the tea while under surveillance and just didn't show us, the audience, that the tea was mentioned. But you'd think for something as pivotal as this tea thing, they would have made sure that we saw that Brody was still under surveillance. What do others think?

CL•November 18, 2011 07:09

I second Saul as the mole. I think the turned person has to be one of the primary characters so far. I don't believe it is Walker. My reasoning - the trouble Saul had on the first attempt on the polygraph and then his anxiousness to pick up Eileen in person.

Malaysia Station Chief•November 16, 2011 23:35

Let's not overcook the eggs. An additional CIA mole strains credulity: not only has AQ managed to turn a POW, but they've infiltrated a high-level mole in the CIA too? Highly unlikely. We want smart realism, not baroque conspiracies a la 24. Either the razor blade has an innocuous explanation (smuggled in via his shoe -- the initial explanation given) or Brody DID turn and he smuggled it in. If they managed to turned one POW, why not two? That's a borderline believable twist. But a POW, a Princeton-educated WASP, and a Jewish CIA agent? That's a multiplicity of moving parts and not believable.

Malaysia Station Chief•November 16, 2011 23:21

Alex merely repeated my comment in last week's thread: Malaysia Station ChiefNovember 9th, 2011 2:51 AM [. . .] the bombshell is probably that there's a third POW out there who was presumed dead but isn't -- or Tom Walker isn't dead after all, and was the POW that turned. (The show's Israeli precursor Hatufim had a similar storyline or a third POW who was thought dead but wasn't.)

Well done on the Walker prediction, Alex. But don't give up on the show yet. I'm sure there're some more fun twists coming up. I'm with JustJoan in supporting David Estes as the Independent Party nominee for Mole of The Month Club president. You have our pledge that the Estes campaign will not resort to negative campaigning. however, we will accept exceptionally huge monetary donations from special interest groups. I actually enjoyed the Saul/Aileen scenes. I found myself questioning everything Saul said about his past. Was he telling the truth or just trying to gain Aileen's trust? I kept thinking that Carrie was heading for some kind of nervous breakdown during this ep. When Carrie called her sister to ask about the key, her sister made a point (more than once) of reminding her to take her pill. Seeming to emphasize the point that to skip a day or two would have dire consequences. Now Carrie is alone at the cabin after an emotionally charged weekend that ended horribly.

HollyDawn•November 16, 2011 20:18

Totally agree that this was a great episode, and that the onscreen chemistry between Danes and Lewis is better than anything I can recall in a ong time (that includes the movies)! When they're onscreen you can't get enough of it, talk about being addicted! Yes, I think Carrie is falling in love with Brody, but I'm not so sure about him. I think that he thought she was a safe port, with all the drinking and free sex,no wife and kids to restrain him, and throw in a cabin by the lake to boot! Then, it all came crashing down at the end of the episode, when he went home and realized he has no safe port anywhere, except the garage where he can practice his Muslim religion in peace. If he gets back with Carrie, I think it will just be briefly, and to find out if she knows anything more about him. The way they talked about being teenagers and going to the prom was so sweet, and made you think they yearned for the days before they were a POW and a CIA agent. A yearning for a tine when they would be able to trust their feelings about each other, and not be afraid that one of them would reveal something to the other that would blow their cover. Secrets they both definitely still have, and will be revealed to us in later episodes. Love this show!

Laurie•November 16, 2011 16:57

My prediction is that both Tom and Brody were turned and neither know the other was turned. They were kept in separate cells with no knowledge of the other. That way if one was found out, it wouldn't jeopardize the other. Why do I think this? Because Eileen was having a sketch drawn. She would have been very clear on whether she was drawing a white or black man. Saul asked for Brody's picture. The man being drawn was probably white. But when showed other pictures she recognized Walker. So it was assumed that the picture being drawn was of another terrorist, just not a turned POW. They will probably get back to that in a few seasons. That picture is probably Brody.

Jordan•November 15, 2011 15:47

I've heard others predict the Tom Walker twist. The suggestion seemed implausible, but then I recalled one of Brody's flashbacks where they were throwing Walker into the burial pit. I wish I could remember the exact scene to replay it, but Walker really did not look dead to me. It made me wonder why Brody said he had killed him. Was Brody lying, or did he really believe that Walker was dead after he beat him? I can't figure out Saul's agenda, but many of his actions have been suspicious. For starters, he failed the lie detector test...well sort of. I also found it strange that he didn't want Carrie to tell anyone else about her suspicions about Brody. His reasoning never made sense. It was also too convenient that Brody chose to pray in the only place without surveillance. I thought someone may have tipped him off about the garage. It's also possible that the Agent Walker twist was fabricated by Saul to turn suspicion away from Brody. He could easily have gotten someone resembling Walker to visit the house. I thought it was strange that Saul immediately steered the investigation in the direction of an American soldier...allowing Aileen to identify Walker in a photo. She must have described the "sniper" to Saul before looking at pictures...so it seemed strange that he would even suggest Brody, who looks nothing like Walker. Everything seemed conveniently staged to me. However, it's possible that the writers did this for the purposes of suspense and didn't expect people like me to overthink it! Brody and Carrie are terrific together and I definitely think that Carrie's feelings are real, although somewhat confused. It's harder to tell with Brody. Based on his flashbacks, I'm sure that he was telling her the truth to a certain extent, but he's definitely omitting something. I just saw a recent interview of the actor Damian Lewis on EW.com. He hinted that Brody was definitely preparing for something, but he couldn't say anymore. I really hope he hasn't been turned though...I like his character too much!